Patrik Elias

In my personal opinion, Patrik Elias is the greatest Devil in the history of the franchise. putting up nearly 1,000 points all for a defense first team? if he had played for say Pittsburgh or Detroit he'd have passed Wayne Gretzky by now. i look up to Elias, and i call him Saint Patrik. i will say that in Denver, i will say it in Montreal, they will say "Roy?" i will say "NO! Elias!". some say "nah marty is the best". well i stand by Patrik and i hope he gets into the HHOF.

Patrik Elias is my favorite Devil of all-time hands down. I think he is easily in the top 5 greatest Devils ever, but I would not say #1.

For that I would say it is probably Brodeur with Stevens a close 2nd, then Daneyko, then Elias and then Niedermayer. Brodeur is not even in my top 10 personal favorite Devils of all time, but when any hockey fan thinks of the Devils, they immediately think of Marty.

This is true as well. So overrated to the point where even with all of his accomplishments he will have a really tough time getting into the HHOF if god forbid something happens and he doesn't hit 1000 career points.

Patrik Elias is my favorite Devil of all-time hands down. I think he is easily in the top 5 greatest Devils ever, but I would not say #1.

For that I would say it is probably Brodeur with Stevens a close 2nd, then Daneyko, then Elias and then Niedermayer. Brodeur is not even in my top 10 personal favorite Devils of all time, but when any hockey fan thinks of the Devils, they immediately think of Marty.

Patrik Elias is my favorite Devil of all-time hands down. I think he is easily in the top 5 greatest Devils ever, but I would not say #1.

For that I would say it is probably Brodeur with Stevens a close 2nd, then Daneyko, then Elias and then Niedermayer. Brodeur is not even in my top 10 personal favorite Devils of all time, but when any hockey fan thinks of the Devils, they immediately think of Marty.

All you've gotta do is check which Devils are locks to have their numbers retired:

3 of them are already up there.

#30 will be up there soon.

#26 will follow.

#15 is a could've been (MacLean), but it seems extremely unlikely to happen. Too bad, in that he was a key building block in the Devils' march from NHL nonentity to respected contender.

Would be nice to see a "Ring of Fire" for guys who don't quite make the jersey number cut, but that's a different argument for a different day.

In terms of Top 5, I'd list them:

1) Brodeur

2) Stevens (though I can understand why some might have Stevens #1)

3) Elias

4) Niedermayer

5) Daneyko

Johnny Mac should probably be in that Top 5 somewhere, but even though he's my favorite Devil, I can't knock off any of the five names listed to put his up there. He's like "5a" to me.

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THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

I really wonder if MacLean didn't demand a trade after Lou told him he would be assigned 3rd line duties from then on if he would have had his jersey retired.

Short answer: Yes, I think he would have. There's a good chance he would've finished out his career as a Devil if he was willing to do whatever was asked of him...I think the Devils would've found ways to utilize him effectively to work around his declining skills. He would've retired with about 400 goals and 800 points or so as Devil, had he gone that way. He got to score 28 goals for the Rangers (needing 20+ minutes of ice time per game to do it) in 1998-99...I'm guessing if he had it to do over again, he would've taken the Stevens route and been the good soldier, at the expense of glamour numbers.

If he had succeeded as a head coach, I also think a MacLean jersey retirement would've happened in time, but I think the colossal failure that was MacLean's coaching stint pretty much slammed the door shut.

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976, 14 October 2013 - 07:08 PM.

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THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

Jesus I was worried this was going to be a "Trade Patty!" panic thread.

Faith in njdevs slightly restored.

If the Devils are really looking hopeless this season (I'm staying optimistic), I wonder if he'd ask Lou to be dealt. I've gotta think he'd like one last chance or two at a Cup, especially if he's playing well. But sometimes these guys surprise and simply want to stay put, regardless of whether his team is struggling or not.

His contract IS kind of prohibitive...2 more years and $11 million coming to him after this year, and he'll be 38 and 39 years old in those years. A team would REALLY have to be in "go for it" mode to take that on.

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THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

If the Devils are really looking hopeless this season (I'm staying optimistic), I wonder if he'd ask Lou to be dealt. I've gotta think he'd like one last chance or two at a Cup, especially if he's playing well. But sometimes these guys surprise and simply want to stay put, regardless of whether his team is struggling or not.

His contract IS kind of prohibitive...2 more years and $11 million coming to him after this year, and he'll be 38 and 39 years old in those years. A team would REALLY have to be in "go for it" mode to take that on.

It might just break what little Devils-spirit I have left right now to see Patty in a different jersey

It might just break what little Devils-spirit I have left right now to see Patty in a different jersey

But, if Lou decides to go into full-on rebuild mode...who knows.

It would suck, but I got to see him at his best, got to see him win two Cups...if the Devils fall apart this season, and he decides that's not how he wants to go out, I would understand and respect it. Depending on what team he wound up going to (as in NOT the Rangers and select others), I'd probably root for his team to win it all.

Of course, we are getting WAY ahead of ourselves...the Devils CAN still turn this damned thing around.

0

THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

Patrik Elias is my favorite Devil of all-time hands down. I think he is easily in the top 5 greatest Devils ever, but I would not say #1.

For that I would say it is probably Brodeur with Stevens a close 2nd, then Daneyko, then Elias and then Niedermayer. Brodeur is not even in my top 10 personal favorite Devils of all time, but when any hockey fan thinks of the Devils, they immediately think of Marty.

I know everyone loves Dano for being Mr. Devil but at this point, hasn't Elias done enough over a long enough period of time that he's clearly ahead of Dano? The A-Line was such a pleasure to watch in their prime and for a couple of years in the early 2000s, I think he was the best LW in game. Naslund typically had more points but Elias was a true sniper and a two way star.

I know everyone loves Dano for being Mr. Devil but at this point, hasn't Elias done enough over a long enough period of time that he's clearly ahead of Dano? The A-Line was such a pleasure to watch in their prime and for a couple of years in the early 2000s, I think he was the best LW in game. Naslund typically had more points but Elias was a true sniper and a two way star.

Dano is Mr.Devil in part because of his appearance. But if there's a forward version of Mr.Devil, a Mrs.Devil, if you will, it's Elias